Celebrating Labor This Labor Day
For more than 60 years, UWSWA and Alabama AFL-CIO have partnered together to improve the quality of life in the community. Last year, Bren Riley, the President of Alabama AFL-CIO, and its membership re-affirmed that partnership.
United Way and Labor first came together right after World War II, as an innovative way to rebuild our nation, our communities, and our people. We looked different back then, but our shared passion for building a better world was evident from the start.
United Way (then Community Chests and Councils) and the AFL-CIO (then the United Nations Relief Committee of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the National Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) Committee for American and Allied War Relief first worked together to create a mechanism for payroll deduction. That resulted in labor representation on Community Chest boards, and evolved into collaborative fundraising and community development.
“United Way is a long-time partner of the working men and women of AFL-CIO affiliated labor unions, working to assist families in need, and this partnership has truly made a difference,” said Donald Adams, a member of the local union No. 505 I.B.E.W. and a UWSWA Board member. “Not only is the aim to lend support on an immediate basis, but our organizations share the goal of finding long-term solutions to social and community service needs.”
At the heart of the partnership is community service. Community service is the foundation of the labor movement. As unions have grown and matured, their efforts and commitment to help working families and improve community life has grown and matured right along with it.
“Community service is more than handing someone a bag of groceries when they are hungry,” stated Will Fischer, AFL-CIO Community Services Director for United Way. “It’s about creating an environment in which working families can live, work, and flourish in vibrant communities.”
UWSWA believes communities are strengthened by uniting and mobilizing resources in support of the building blocks for a better life: health, education, financial stability, and essentials. AFL-CIO members help further this vision by serving on nonprofit boards, collecting funds to provide vital services for the unemployed and underemployed, and coordinating educational programs to union members.
“Together,” Adams believes, “we can make a real investment in our communities, our country, and our future.”
It’s been a great partnership, and the future looks even brighter. Strengthening our labor partnership – especially in community impact, employee engagement and resource development – means that we can do even more together to build strong communities. United Way’s new partnership agreement with AFL-CIO is helping us do just that, and is deepening United Way’s relationship with labor liaisons so we can do even more together to advocate for access to education, health, financial stability, and life’s basic essentials for every person in every community we serve in Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile, and Washington counties.
Each year, UWSWA awards two Labor awards in honor of two distinguished Labor workers: Red Leachman and W.O. Mozingo. Leachman was the first Labor Liaison for UWSWA while Mozingo is considered the father of the labor movement in southwest Alabama and served on the UWSWA Board of Directors.
This year, the Red Leachman Community Service Award was awarded to the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers and the W.O. Mozingo Community Service Award was given to Antonie M. Maiben with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 770.